Chapel Hill area dominated by rental housing

More than 50 percent of housing in Chapel Hill and in Carrboro is rental property, according to a report released Tuesday.

The 2012 State of the Community Repor Government Matters&utm_campaign=August Government Matters&utm_medium=emailt, presented by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, shows a high number of rental units in Chapel Hill and Carrboro — a factor many attribute to the concentrated population of students in the area.

Of Chapel Hill’s 22,254 housing units, 52.4 percent are occupied by renters, according to the report.

The proportion of renters in Carrboro is even higher. Of its 9,258 housing units, 61.5 percent are occupied by renters.

But local officials in both towns say those figures are not surprising.

Less than half of UNC’s undergraduates, who number about 18,000, live on campus.

Many of the rest rent apartments or houses in neighboring areas.

UNC senior Garin Hamilton-Jones said he decided to moved to Mill Creek Condominiums in Chapel Hill because he wanted to get away from the craziness of on-campus life.

Adam Brown, president of the Greater Chapel Hill Association of REALTORS, said having a large proportion of rental housing is not unusual for towns like Chapel Hill and Carrboro with younger, well-educated populations near a university.

“These rates are not surprising,” he said in an email. “They are consistent with like-kind communities that serve a large population of students and young professionals.”

Although UNC students make up much of the renter population, some working-class families have also begun renting instead of buying houses.

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said the costs associated with owning a home lead many permanent residents to rent instead of buy.

“Today, a lot of that housing is occupied by families instead,” Chilton said. “A lot of working-class people can’t really afford to buy homes here.”

The average cost of buying a home in Orange County is about $325,000, as of 2011.

Chilton said the trend toward rental development in Carrboro can be traced back to the town’s decision in the 1970s to allow developers to build apartments along the Highway 54 bypass.

“Developers responded by creating rental housing,” he said.

In Chapel Hill, new developments such as Shortbread Lofts and The Park at Chapel Hill could attract student renters.

Chapel Hill Town Councilman Matt Czajkowski said real-estate development in the past few years has focused on permanent residential projects.

But Czajkowski said he thinks there will be a shift toward more rental developments in the future.

“It’s very clear the way the market has evolved for student housing,” he said. “Now there are developers that are specializing in it.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.